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If you haven't already, be sure to catch up on the rest of this series by reading these previous installments:
Part 1: Savage Axis Build: Introduction
Part 2: Savage Axis Build: Action & Trigger
My original plan for this build was to acquire a factory 7mm-08 Remington take-off sporter barrel and have it rechambered to .284 Winchester. With sporter take-off barrels typically selling for $75 or less this would save me a significant amount over buying an aftermarket pre-fit or having an aftermarket blank chambered and contoured to my needs. Unfortunately I was unable to locate one with the faster 1-9.5" twist rate and I didn't want to risk it using one of the slower 1-11.5" twist barrels that Savage offered for a number of years.
This development forced me to start looking at aftermarket options which presented their own issues. As we all know there is presently a long waiting period for aftermarket barrels with some manufacturers being 6+ months behind on production. Having to wait that long for a pre-fit or custom ordered barrel simply wouldn't fit the timeline dictated by this project, so I had to find another solution.
That solution came in the form of a Shilen 7mm 1-9 twist chrome-moly barrel blank with a #4 contour which I obtained from Midway USA. The blank being contoured already would save me some money on having it turned down, and it was in-stock so there was no wait time. The downside of course was the increased cost of the blank which blew my projected barrel budget by a little over $100.
And now for what most of you have been anxiously waiting for - the stock. Dubbed the ProHunter, this new laminate stock offering will be a savior to all those who deplore the factory synthetic stock on their Axis rifle(s). The manufacturer had planned to start taking orders for these stocks in early July, but as of today (6/28/13) an unexpected circumstance has forced them to postpone the release until this fall. Sometimes the man upstairs just puts a detour in the road and there's nothing you can do about it - this is one of those instances.
The barrel channel and action inlet are precision machined on CNC equipment to insure 100% drop in fit. The magazine inlet is equipped with the proper hardware to insure the magazine is positioned and retained properly. The stock is inlet to accept a metal 110-style trigger guard and re-uses the factory Axis action screws. All stocks will come finish sanded and are ready for a final finish, and will include a new metal trigger guard. They will be available in both right-hand and left-hand versions for both short and long action Axis magazines. The standard recoil pad will be of the 1/2" variety, or you can upgrade to the optional 1" decelerator-type pad for those hard kicking cartridges.
Once I was confident the finish was fully cured I went to work on polishing the finish. I started this process using 3M Fine Cut Liquid Rubbing Compound which is comparable to wet sanding with 1500 grit paper. This left the finish a little glossier than desired so next I very lightly worked the surface with 0000 steel wool. Once the desired sheen was achieved it was a simple matter of wiping the stock with a tack cloth and applying a few coats of carnauba wax to finish the job.
While I like the looks of the vents in the forearm, I have to admit that they're a real pain in the rear when it comes to finishing the stock as it's very difficult to get into them to sand and apply the finish to fully seal the stock. The only suitable solution I found to this problem was the use of Q-tips which is still far from an ideal solution. I also found that the palm swell for us lefties was minimal at best on my pre-production samples. I mentioned and showed this to Fred and he will be modifying the pattern accordingly.
Summary
I had initially allocated $325 for a factory take-off barrel, rechambering and re-bluing for this stage of the project, but having to go to an aftermarket barrel pretty much shot a $100 hole in that budget. Fortunately my gunsmith cut me a deal on the machining and the stock came in a little under budget so there's still a good chance the project total will come in under the $1,300 figure I came up with at the start.
Regarding the ProHunter stock, it's monumentally better than the factory synthetic stock in every way imaginable. It doesn't flex, it has a grip designed for man-size hands, it will ride sandbags well, and the laminate just looks a lot nicer. At present the manufacturer plans to offer the ProHunter for $225 which includes a metal trigger guard. I feel this is extremely reasonable considering the superb fit and quality, and since I only had $30 in finishing materials I managed to come in $45 under budget on the stock.
| Product/Service |
Price |
| Shilen 7mm Barrel Blank | $175.00 |
| Barrel Machining/Chambering | $125.00 |
| Laminate Stock Blank | $40.00 |
| Stock Machining/Shaping | 165.00 |
| Metal 110 Trigger Guard | $20.00 |
| Stock Finishing Materials | $30.00 |
| Total: |
$555.00 |
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